Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti
Disturbed by the rate at which Nigerians suddenly die from high blood pressure and other health conditions, a Nigerian church based in Italy, Christ Love Evangelical Assembly, Regio-Emilia, has set up a humanitarian project christened ‘Living Well and Living Blessed Initiative’ to encourage Nigerians to pay attention to their health by going to hospitals for regular body examinations, saying most of the deaths can be avoided.
According to the organisers, the project is one of the activities lined up to mark the 7th anniversary of the church, which was launched on Saturday, December 9, 2023 in Lagos.
According to a statement by the church’s overseer, Pastor Bola Oluwakemi Anyanwu (CLEA Regio Emilia, Italy), the initiative is “to encourage and motivate Nigerians to go for regular check-ups to avoid sudden deaths caused by high blood pressure, mental depression, stroke and cancer, among others.
The church leader explained that some illnesses could be properly managed if discovered through tests early enough.
She said: “The programme is designed to be one event in two centres. One centre will be within the church premises, while the second centre will be at the central motor park, Isaga. There will be free medical tests, treatments and counselling.
“We hope to take the Living Well and Living Blessed Initiative to different parts of the country through our partners. The Living Well and Living Blessed Initiative is to capture the well being, soul, spirit and body of fellow Nigerians from the experiences our members have passed through in Italy.
“We have chosen to start with a free medical outreach knowing that many Nigerians do not go for medical check-ups.
“It is to be noted that most of our present church members in Italy are migrants rescued from the dangerous journey of the sea but have been integrated into the society through the concerted efforts of the Italian government. Most of them are living well and living blessed.”
According to her, “Another point to note is that most of them came to Italy passing the desserts to Libya and making the dangerous journey through the sea. As soon as they are rescued and landed on Italy’s Lampedusa, the first thing the government does for them is to have a comprehensive medical check-up on all of them.
“Most of the Nigerians so rescued learned of their ailments for the first time while undergoing the medical check-up. The government also takes the responsibilities of treating all the ailments identified irrespective of the costs of treatments which may include surgeries and even health management for several months. This is an unforgettable moment of show of human care and love.
“As a payback to the society, the Christ Love Evangelical Assembly, Regio Emilia will be having an outreach at the train station on the 23rd of December where food and drinks will be handed to as many people as will be seen in the vicinity of the train station during the outreach.
“I also want to call on our educational planners to redesign our academic curriculum in such a way that our graduates will not be frustrated in looking for nonexistent jobs and at the end publicly burn their certificates. There is a challenge of job creation that must be addressed by our curriculum planners.
“This may reduce the ‘Japa’ syndrome plaguing the Nigerian youth.
”I celebrate every minister that will be ordained for the work of the ministry during the Christ Love Evangelical Assembly anniversary thanksgiving in Nigeria and Italy. May you fulfill vision with purpose.
“I thank you all for coming. Hope to see you at the first anniversary of CLEA Nigeria, from Friday 8th to Monday 11th December, 2023. I wish you Merry Christmas and Happy New Year in advance.”
